We’re not talking about getting a copy of Forza Horizon and a gaming console – that sort of driving practice simply improves your reactions in scenarios you are highly unlikely to experience on the road in real life. There are many options for learning how to drive and also how to improve your existing driving in the form of videos and courses.
One such course is Parking, Reversing and Low-speed Manoeuvring Made Easy. It’s available via Udemy and consists of around an hour of videos that show you how to all but eliminate those expensive little dents and scratches that you get when parking or manoeuvring. Almost everyone has had (or will have) one of these and they usually cost anywhere from $300 to fix, so the Udemy price of $19 is good value.
Driving is a little like cooking. You need to know some theory before you put it into practice – you can’t make a chocolate cake if you have no idea what goes into the cake or how hot to have the oven. Our driver licence process respects this: we do a theory test and a hazard perception test online and we have practical tests to ensure we are following the guidance taught as theory.
What to look out for in online driving courses
The average attention span is around 10-20 minutes, so modules of around 5-10 minutes that teach one or two concepts in-depth make it easy to digest the information.
Look for an instructor who has a lot of experience teaching driving in real life, not just online.
Demonstrations should explain what’s going on both inside and outside the vehicle and make note of where you turn, how much you turn, what to watch out for, where your blind spots are and more.
Access to the course for at least a year is preferable as this gives you time to go back and redo the course if you want to.
Having the course available via a mobile app is helpful if you want to watch a module in the car before practising a manoeuvre.
Will you be a better driver?
The course itself doesn’t make you a better driver unless you put it into practice. Knowing the theory means you can practice what you’ve learned while being sure that you are not practising the wrong thing.
Darren is an expert on driving and transport, and is a member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists
